


Clean Light

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, bokuto is an electrician, kenma works at an animal shelter, the rest are sorta....vague
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-09-13 19:34:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9138976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: kuroo and kenma work at getting their friends together and somehow get mixed up in it as wellor alternately, three boyfriends are better than one





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> if this looks familiar...it is. i moved accounts (for several reasons) but i'm finally gonna continue this i hope!
> 
> i managed to lose all my planning & since it's been over a year since i last worked on it i don't remember where i was going with it,, but maybe it will end up even better this time!

Kenma didn't catch on until he was sitting down at his usual table in the corner of the cafe, tucked away from the world. Suddenly it became painfully obvious why the barista had been so nervous and messed up his drink earlier; he had even stuttered through his greeting. Ten tiny numbers, written in a sloppy rushed font, stood out on his drink. The last number was either a three or an eight; it had rubbed off on Kenma’s finger, making it indistinguishable. 

The barista must have been pretty nervous. Kenma smiled, it was sort of cute.

Seeing the numbers reminded him of the first time he had gotten someone’s number. In ninth grade his science textbook went missing the day before a giant unit exam and he spent the whole night trying to find a copy online so he wouldn’t fail. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for him to misplace things, but the timing couldn’t be any worse. Thankfully the next day it had shown up after class, but when he opened it to double check it really was his, there was extra writing on the front page. Kuroo had later confessed that he had gotten one of his friends to steal the textbook just so he could give Kenma his number because he was too scared to go up to the boy and simply talk to him.

Reflecting back on it, Kenma couldn't see Kuroo of all people being intimidated by someone, but love worked in strange ways.

Kenma laughed to himself at the memory. Since it was a public school textbook it was still in rotation, being used by new students every year; still with Kuroo's number printed neatly inside. It wasn't uncommon for Kuroo to receive a prank call from who could only been a ninth grader. Kuroo would pretend to be mad and Kenma would pretend to feel bad for him, but secretly he knew that although they would never admit it, they looked forward to a new call every year.

Sitting in the small cafe before class in the evenings to read had become somewhat of a habit for Kenma. Sometimes it was reading for class, other times it was just him having some quiet time in the day to himself. Between work and Kuroo he didn't get as much as he would like anymore. He was so much of a regular at this point that his apparent admirer -Yamaguchi he remembered, the boy's name tag read Yamaguchi- had taken to remembering his order, so instead they usually exchanged small talk while Kenma paid and waited.

Surprisingly, Kenma wasn't completely averse to these talks with the almost stranger. Yamaguchi seemed sweet and had a quiet voice, that had a startling calming effect on Kenma. His entire demeanor suggested he would be the type to stop and help an old lady across the street. One of Kenma's first thoughts had been how Yamaguchi was the type of person he could have seen himself dating. Instead he had somehow ended up with Kuroo. Loud, energetic, total people-person Kuroo. Funny how things worked out. He had to admit though, he didn’t regret a single thing. 

Time always seemed to pass faster than normal in the cafe and before Kenma realized it, it was time for him to start heading to class. He wanted to arrive a bit earlier to ask his professor about an assignment that was due the following week. Collecting his bag, he made his way over to the counter to drop off his mug and stopped for a moment to zip up his jacket, preparing to face the outside world. 

"See you Monday!" Kenma turned to see Yamaguchi sending him a small wave as the bell on the door jingled. There was a faint blush that Kenma could make out, it made his freckles even more prominent.  _ Cute, _ Kenma huffed and made his way out into the cold evening.

 

"So you're telling me some guy was hitting on my boyfriend?!" Kuroo asked dramatically. He threw his hands up and he fell down on the couch beside Kenma. "I mean, they've got good taste, I'll give them that, but some guy was hitting on my boyfriend!" He sounded offended, but Kenma knew it wasn't quite as bad as he was making it out to be. Kuroo was already aware of Kenma's admirer and being over-dramatic was just part of who Kuroo was.

"Kuroo, I've already told you he was flirting with me before and you didn't seem too bothered then," Kenma responded calmly, he was never one to raise his voice, everything about the boy was quiet. If Kenma was a house cat, that made Kuroo a lion.

Kuroo huffed, he was caught. He reached over and tangled his hand in Kenma's hair. "Yeah well he gave you his number this time, that's stepping over the line." Kenma raised his eyebrow as if to say:  _ Is it? Is it really? _ Yet he couldn't find himself annoyed as Kuroo twisted a piece of his hair between his thumb and index finger. Kenma knew he was doing in on purpose since it was a well known fact Kenma liked when people played with his hair. It worked to calm him down and was one of the main reasons he refused to cut his hair, which was currently just over shoulder length. 

"Okay, but seriously though Kenma, if he's some crusty old dude hitting on you and making you uncomfortable I'll go beat his ass up."

"You would have picked up if any of it made me uncomfortable," Kenma stated and it was true. After being best friends since grade school they were able to easily read each other's emotions and actions. Kuroo was always able to tell when something was off with Kenma and vice versa. "It’s not that bad. He's actually really shy and blushes easy, it's sorta cute."

"So it's cute now is it?"

"Yeah, he's sorta cute."

"Did I just hear that right, my kitten calling someone cute?" He paused for effect, sitting straight up, leaning against the back of the couch. "Oh man, he must be real good if he's won the title of cute in your eyes." Kenma just rolled his eyes and tried to stop the blush from appearing.

He wasn't the least bit successful and he could feel the blood warming his cheeks. Kuroo easily caught on. "Now I have to meet him!" 

"I guess you can come with me before my next class, but try not to do anything embarrassing." Kenma knew that would be a long shot. It was Kuroo, it was in his blood to be embarrassing in public. It was something he got used to over time.

"Perfect!" Kuroo knew he had won his boyfriend over.

"Now are you up for a couple rounds of mario kart before you pass out? I promised you that rematch from last time, remember? Maybe I’ll even let you win."

"I guess so, but I'm tired, so you might have to carry me back to bed by the end of it." 

"I think I could handle that." Kenma knew that would be the answer, his boyfriend liked to display his strength by always carrying Kenma around, piggybacks were more common in public, but there was still the odd time Kuroo would sweep Kenma up, bridal style, for easy transportation. It didn't happen much anymore though, since Kenma had brought up how he didn't like the attention it brought him; all the judging eyes. Kuroo accepted it, but still took any opportunity he could to show off for his boyfriend.

"Alright then, you're on."

 

The next day found Kuroo and Kenma standing in line waiting to order at the cafe. The earlier half of the day had been pretty uneventful. Kenma worked a shift at the animal shelter down the street. He was finally making progress on befriending a skittish dog that had come in last week. It had been abandoned in a yard on the outskirts of the city for more than a week before someone called in. Even though they didn't know what in detail had happened, the dog didn't trust anyone and would bark and cower in the corner if anyone approached.

Kuroo, on the other hand, had gotten a call from Bokuto after his van broke down halfway to his current job. Kuroo had waited with him until the tow truck arrived and then listened to Bokuto whine about how much the whole thing would cost. The electrician would have to wait a week for his van to be repaired, and it would cost nearly as much as the jobs he would be missing out on over the wait. His saving grace was that they offered him a rental van until his was operational again.

Kenma smiled as they neared the till, without realizing it he had been looking forward to seeing Yamaguchi again. That thought in itself, was difficult for Kenma to process. He was so used to relying on Kuroo and Hinata for everything that be barely even talked to others anymore. Of course he socialized with employees and customers alike at the shelter, but they never spoke outside of work, so he figured it didn't count. Kenma couldn't understand why he was looking forward to seeing someone who he only saw every other day and barely knew anything about. Somehow, Yamaguchi had snuck his way into Kenma’s head and had become part of his routine. 

"The usual?" Yamaguchi asked when it was their turn to order.

"Make that two," Kuroo answered from behind Kenma. Kenma elbowed him in the gut. He remembered once how Kuroo said he was glad that Kenma wasn't any shorter or else he would be in trouble. Kenma had aimed lower on purpose after that time. "Please," Kuroo added, flashing a smile.

"Of course, coming right up." Yamaguchi turned to grab two cups before turning back to face them. "Name? I already know his," he asked, gesturing towards Kenma. 

"Oh. Of course, it's Kuroo." Kenma couldn't tell if that was a 'of course you already know his name, that's my boyfriend you have a crush on' or a 'oh of course, what was I thinking?', but he had a feeling it was more of the former. Yamaguchi hadn’t appeared to pick up on Kuroo’s tone but instead turned to make their drinks.

Kenma guided Kuroo over to his usual spot in the back, knowing that Yamaguchi would bring their drinks when they were ready. Kuroo grabbed a seat on the couch first and pulled Kenma down by his waist so he was practically sitting on Kuroo’s lap. It was usual for them, but Kenma couldn't help but be slightly bothered by the display of affection. When they had first started dating he hadn't even dared holding Kuroo's hand in public. So Kenma liked to think he was getting better with the small things at least.

Belatedly, Kenma realized Yamaguchi hadn't bothered to make their normal small talk tonight. He had seemed quite serious and less like his usual smiley self; Kenma sighed and wondered if there was something wrong. He had never really seem Yamaguchi anything other than cheery, this was new. He shoved the thoughts to the back of his mind, now was not the time to be worrying over someone he barely knew.

"So much for you being friendly," Kenma joked and shuffled over so there was a bit of space between the two of them on the couch.

Kuroo chuckled. Kenma loved his laugh. It was weird and loud, sort of like Kuroo, but it was infectious and if he started laughing hard enough he would even snort. Which just made Kenma lose it all over again. It was something he loved about his boyfriend.

"I said I wanted to meet him, not be his friend. But, just for the record kitten, I'm always very friendly."

Now it was Kenma's turn to laugh. "Because you just have  _ so  _ many friends."

"Hey hey hey! One: rude. Two: I don't need your sass. Three: I have friends. I have Bo and Akaashi and Hinata and Kiyoko, Tsukishima too."

"Hinata is more my friend than yours, all you do is pester him about his height. And is Tsukishima the one on your volleyball team? I don't think I've met him."

"I'll have you know Hinata and I are the best of friends and he comes over when you have class and we watch chick flicks and cry over how cute you are. You're welcome to join us if you want."

"Wouldn't that just defeat the purpose?" Kenma deadpanned.

"Touché."

They were interrupted as Yamaguchi walked over carrying their mugs of coffee.

"Here you are." He said setting down the drinks on the table, bumping hands with Kenma as he rushed to pick up his drink. He only got a few hours of sleep the night before and caffeine was a must. 

"Thank you." Kenma offered him a smile. He thought he heard Kuroo make a noise.

"Oh, uh, no problem. I hope you enjoy them. Have a nice dat-day. Have a nice day," He stuttered before turning around and all but running back behind the counter. Kenma almost thought he could see his tail tucked between his legs.

Kenma placed his drink down and turned to face Kuroo. "Tell me you did not just growl at him."

"He's the one who almost said have a nice date!"

"That was him being nice Kuroo, slightly flustered probably because of your immature actions, but nice. You know that's not what he actually meant. You, on the other hand, just honest to god growled at someone. I can't believe you." Kenma shook his head in disappointment. So much for Kuroo not doing anything embarrassing, with any luck Yamaguchi would quickly forget this encounter and would never have to interact with Kuroo ever again.

They sat for a moment in silence, sipping at their coffee and watching the interactions happening around them. "Anyways, you never answered me. Is Tsukishima the one you play volleyball with?"

"Yeah, that's him."

"You don't sound too thrilled," Kenma pondered and took another sip of his coffee while listening to his boyfriend.

"Only because he found out I had a boyfriend and now he's been telling me about his crush non-stop and you know how I'm not the best when it comes to feelings, especially other people's. You'd think it was his first time with a crush honestly, he's totally a goner."

"Maybe it is his first crush, how would you know?"

"Well I guess technically it is. His first crush on a guy at least, he's having a bit of an identity crisis to say the least. We had a whole talk about sexualities in the change room after the game the other day. I'm not paid enough for this."

"Did you tell him you were pan then?" Kenma inquired.

"Yeah, that's sorta how the whole thing started. I said even though I had a boyfriend, I wasn't actually gay and then I had to explain myself. So really, I set myself up for that one. I guess he really only saw things in black and white before though, the rest came as quite the shock to him.

"He's not a bad guy, actually we get along really well, but this is getting old. We either need to get him set up with his crush or get the poor guy laid."

"I bet you would be happy to do the honours," Kenma teased him.

"Honestly, who do you take me for kitten?" Kuroo huffed and tried to sound offended, only to crash and burn.

"You didn't deny it."

"No, I didn't."

They fell back into a comfortable silence. Kenma wouldn't be bothered by it at all, he could care less really. It's not like he was jumping at the opportunity to have sex with his boyfriend. They had made an agreement at the start of their relationship, that as long as Kenma was aware and approved of the other Kuroo could have sex outside of their relationship, since Kenma wasn't up to it and he wasn't about to start denying Kuroo anything.

"Shit, don't you have to get to class?"

"Fuck. Sorry, I didn't realize the time. I'll meet you at home." He leaned over to kiss Kuroo on the cheek before throwing his bag over his shoulder and making his way out, praying he would make it to class on time.

 

That night they were both propped up in bed, Kuroo watching a rerun of Star Wars: A New Hope and Kenma curled up beside him paying more attention to his DS than the movie and his boyfriend combined. Kuroo had a hand running through Kenma's hair and Kenma was all but purring at the feeling.

"Holy fuck." The peaceful silence was broken.

"What?" Kenma wondered if something had happened in the movie that Kuroo hadn't managed to pick up the first fifty times he had watched it.

"That barista, your  _ oh-so-secret-admirer _ , his name is Yamaguchi, right?"

"Yeah. So?" Kenma wasn't catching on to whatever Kuroo had clearly figured out.

"Do you know his first name?"

"Do we look like we're on a first name basis?" Kenma raised his eyebrow.

Kuroo shrugged. "Who knows what you two are." Silence. "Anyways, I just realized something."

"Yeah I sorta picked up on that. What is it?"

"Tsukishima mentioned his crush's name the other day and I’m like ninety-nine percent  sure it was Yamaguchi Tadashi. I wondered why his name seemed familiar earlier when I read his name tag. I think that's Tsukishima's crush, best friend, whatever."

"Oh," was the only noise Kenma could manage to make at the moment. 

"And he's got a crush on you instead, Kitten."

"Oh." 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i might come back to edit a bit of the dialogue yet again since I'm not 100% satisfied w it,, but school starts in two days so i had to get this up today or else it would have had to wait till after exams. that being said chapter 3 might take awhile...sorry

"So basically, what you're trying to tell me is that his friend had a crush on his best friend, who just so happens to have a crush on you?" Hinata looked over at Kenma before placing the shirt he had picked up back on the rack. Kenma nodded.

"That's some pretty crazy shit, if I do say so myself. How are you gonna deal with that, Kozume?" Kenma's only response was a shrug. How would he know, people were complicated, that's always why he did his best to avoid them at all costs. So far he wasn't doing too well at that.

Someone bumped into his shoulder and mumbled a quick "sorry" before walking away. Kenma quickly reevaluated why he had agreed to come shopping with Hinata in the first place. He knew he wouldn't like it and yet he always had trouble saying no to his friend.

"Remind me why we're here again please Shouyo," Kenma muttered while falling into step behind Hinata as they exited the store empty-handed.

Hinata sighed. "Because _ somebody _ here needed to get out of the house." At this point Kenma couldn't tell which one of them Hinata was talking about. Sure Kenma was being kept busy with his studies and tended to only make it as far as the kitchen on days when there was no work or school, but Hinata was the one who had the energy that oozed out of every pore in his body and could never be kept sitting still for too long. "Also, Kageyama's birthday is coming up soon so I'm on the lookout for something for him."

Kenma reached out to grab Hinata's hand as to not be swept away by the rush of people in the hallways. It wasn’t anywhere near a holiday, but the mall was particularly packed and Kenma was sure the universe was conspiring against him.

"Why not just get him a volleyball or something?" Kenma suggested.

"He's already got like five and I'm pretty sure they all have names," Hinata laughed, probably at how ridiculous his boyfriend sounded and Kenma couldn't help but laugh as well.

"Well then... I'm sure you'll find something he likes."

"Oh I know I will. I mean he'll love anything I get him. I just want it to be something special though."

"Fair enough." Kenma couldn't deny a thing Hinata had just said. Kageyama followed that boy around like he was his sun and the source of his life itself. It was cute, a little on a the overly romantic gross side, but cute nonetheless, Kenma had decided.

Kenma's phone buzzed in his pocket. "Hey, can we stop at the next store soon? I want to check this text and not get killed in a stampede of people."

"Yes, sir!" Hinata squeaked before pulling Kenma around the corner and into a sports store, he let go of their hands.

"I'm gonna go look around, come find me when you're done." Before he knew it Hinata had disappeared and Kenma was left alone at the front of the store. By more of a reflex he pulled his phone out of his pocket and keyed in his four digit code.

**Yamaguchi:** Hey do you have class tonight?

**Kenma:** yes

It had been almost a week since Kenma had gotten Yamaguchi's number and even though he wasn’t very into it at first, they had been texting nearly everyday. All it had taken was some slight convincing from Kuroo and for Kenma to leave his phone long enough for Kuroo to send the first text. Kenma could only count it as a blessing that Yamaguchi seemed to use proper grammar while he was texting, much unlike Kuroo.

It had been almost a week and yet Kenma still hadn't found it in him to tell Yamaguchi that he was dating someone. He felt bad, but Yamaguchi seemed to scared to flirt much now that they were actually talking, so it didn't pose much of a problem.

**Yamaguchi:** Text me when you're two mins away and I can have your coffee ready for you when you walk through the door!

**Kenma:** sounds like good service

**Kenma:** wait

**Kenma:** are you even allowed to text during work?

**Yamaguchi:** What the boss doesn't know won't kill her. Plus I'm on her good side so it's okay

The problem was the fact that Kuroo had talked to Tsukishima again the other night and found out that indeed his crush Yamaguchi and the Yamaguchi that had a crush on Kenma were in fact one in the same and that Kuroo might have mentioned how he would set the two of them up for a date. Kuroo had told him he was in charge of making sure Yamaguchi would show up to the time he and Tuskishima planned out.

Once again Kenma found himself surrounded by people who really he wanted nothing to do with, but he had to admit that he felt pretty bad for the crush Yamaguchi had on him. So he made it his goal to help get Yamaguchi and Tsukishima together. He just had no idea how he was going to go about breaking the news to Yamaguchi.

**Kenma:** as long as you don't get in trouble

**Yamaguchi:** I won't I'm like a ninja!

**Kenma:** okay then haha

**Kenma:** i have to go i'm shopping w a friend

**Yamaguchi:** Okay bye! Have fun~

Kenma smiled, tucking his phone away just as Hinata walked up bags in hand.

"Oh my god, how much did you buy him Shouyo?" Kenma reached over and grabbed a bag. Part of him was helping his friend lighten his load, but the bigger part of him was trying to not be the person who stood there awkwardly with empty hands.

"Some of it's for me too! I found this awesome new hoodie that I wanted, but I bought it for Kageyama so that he could wear it and then I could steal it once it smells like him."

"Of course you did." Kenma rolled his eyes, his friend could be devious when needed and apparently this was one of those cases.

"I got everything I need for now, we can go now if you're done." Hinata turned to lead the way out of the store.

"Finally, thank god.”

 

The rest of the week passed without issue and Monday found Kenma sitting, texting in the breakroom at work. He had decided earlier that morning that today would be the day he told Yamaguchi how really he was actually dating Kuroo and that his friend Tsukishima just so happened to have a crush on him.

Kenma was losing his shit to say the least.

He was a nervous wreck that jumped when someone breathed the wrong way. He had never been good with people and always struggled with communication the most. There was no way he was going to be able to tell Yamaguchi without freaking out first. Yamaguchi was a good person and Kenma was afraid that he might come across as too harsh and hurt his feelings, which is the last thing he wanted to do.

**Kenma:** i can't do this

**Kuroo:** Calm down and take deep breaths u got this kitten

**Kenma:** what if i screw up? what if he hates me?

**Kuroo:** U'll still have me

**Kuroo:** I thought u preferred it when people hated u anyways

Kenma put his phone down and sat down at the table occupying the back half of the room. Kuroo was wrong. He didn't like when people hated him; in fact he hated it. Kenma preferred to be invisible, for people to feel neutral about him, for people to wonder. He listened though and took several deep breaths. He still felt tightly wound up, ready to snap at a moment's notice, but now his headspace was a little clearer.

He had ten minutes left in his break and knew he had to do this now. Letting out a shaky breath he found Yamaguchi’s number and pressed dial. He brought the phone up to his ear.

Yamaguchi picked up after the first ring.

"Kenma! Hi," he sounded muffled, like he was surrounded by people, Kenma guessed a mall or maybe a bus. A strange calmness washed over Kenma, two words was all it took.

"Hi." He hated this already. He still had no idea what to say.

"What are you up to? Do you need anything?"

"Oh, I'm just on break at work. I, uh, need to...to talk to you about something." Kenma realized just how quickly their roles had changed, suddenly he was the one flustered and tripping over his words.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" The concerned tone of his voice made Kenma made him realize how much Yamaguchi cared and he felt even guiltier about the words that left his mouth next.

"I'm dating someone. I'm dating Kuroo." He was met with silence and then to his surprise: laughter.

"I know."

"Wait...what?"

"When you guys came into the shop it was sort of obvious. He was protective over you at one moment and following you around like a lost puppy the next. It was really cute actually, you guys are a cute couple."

"So you knew I was dating him and you still wanted to talk to me? I thought you liked me. I thought you'd be upset." Now Kenma was confused.

"Kenma, I did like you. I do like you. I admit, I was a little disappointed when I guessed you were dating, but that doesn't mean I don't want to be your friend. You’re a good person. Two people can be just friends." Silence. "If that's okay I mean."

Kenma wasn't sure what to do. He was ashamed to admit it, but he hadn't really made a new friend since meeting Hinata after high school ended. The possibility of being friends with Yamaguchi was quite appealing to him."Oh, yeah that's fine. I want to be your friend too."

"Awesome! Well, I better let you get back to work. I'm assuming your break is over soon."

"Wait. There's, uh, something else."

"What?"

"I don't really- I don't know how to say it." Kenma was barely good at conveying his own feelings; he didn't understand how was he supposed to speak for someone else on account of theirs. What if he screwed up on Tsukishima's behalf?

"You can just come out and say it. I can take it."

"Okay." Deep breath. "Tsukishima likes you. He likes you and he asked Kuroo and I to help get him a date with you."

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"That explains why he's been acting stranger than usual lately."

"Oh, yeah probably."

"So when's this date?"

"You're actually agreeing? Don't you like me?" 

Yamaguchi laughed. "Last time I checked, yes. But if I let you in on a little secret promise not to tell?"

"I won't. Also I'm sorry, that came off worded worse than I thought."

“It's fine. Okay well...I've liked Tsukki for years now. We're childhood friends, he's sorta how I figured out I wasn't exactly straight, but I always thought he was and that I would never have a chance dating him. So basically I got over it and moved on."

"I see."

"Yeah, so now I'll let you get back to work, and I'm gonna go find out the details to my date."

"Okay, bye. Good luck."

"Bye, Kenma."

The call ended and Kenma tried shake the slight feel of unease that was left with him, resonating in his bones. There was no rhyme or reason behind it and that was probably what bothered Kenma the most. He sent Kuroo a quick text of his success before slipping his phone back into his pocket and making his way towards the front desk.

 

"So when do I get to meet this mysterious Tsukishima?" Kenma sat in the bed he usually shared with Kuroo, currently in the middle of a phone call with Yamaguchi. Kuroo was spread across the end of the bed, head hanging off the end, playing animal crossing if the sounds on Kenma's DS were anything to go from.

Kuroo huffed in attempt to push his hair out of his face. Even though the question had been aimed at Yamaguchi, Kuroo wasted no time in replying, "Invite them over. If Tsukki says no, tell him we'll rent Jurassic World. Dino's are his weakness, I swear he's like five."

Kenma muffled his giggles before repeating what Kuroo had just stated back to Yamaguchi, leaving out the part about Tsukishima being a child.

"Yeah, sounds good. Yeah, okay. See you then!" Kenma hung up and nudged Kuroo with his foot. "They'll be here after Tsukishima finishes work, so get off your lazy ass and help me tidy up the place."

"Why? They're just friends," Kuroo said without looking up from his game. 

Kenma got up and moved to the end of the bed so he was staring down on Kuroo. "It's because they're our friends and they haven't been to our apartment yet, they don't need to think we're pigs!" The apartment wasn’t all too messy to begin with since cleaning usually helped Kenma’s nerves. That being said, cleaning helped Kenma’s nerves, so he felt the need to tidy up the place at least. 

"Okay, but only if I get a kiss first." Kenma tried to act annoyed but leaned in to oblige his boyfriend regardless. It was an awkward kiss to say the least with Kenma having to lean over to reach Kuroo's lips that were upside down to him. He felt a bit like spider-man. That didn't stop Kuroo from trying to deepen the kiss, but Kenma pulled back before he could take it too far.

"There, now come help." He took his DS from Kuroo's grasp and laid it on the bed before pushing on Kuroo's shoulders trying to help his boyfriend up.

Kenma wasn't weak, but he wasn't strong either. The fact that Kuroo was putting all his focus in attempting to weigh more didn’t help. Then a genius plan hatched in Kenma's mind and he took no time at all switching his weight and successfully rolling Kuroo off the bed. He landed with a loud thunk that Kenma knew the people living underneath them would be curious about.

"What the fuck, kitten?" Kuroo's voice sounded slightly hurt and Kenma wondered if he really was hurt.

"I wasn't making any process the other way. I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"You aren't sorry. And of course I'm fine, I'm a big boy now."

"Uh huh." Kenma laughed. "Let's get to cleaning then."

He offered his hand to Kuroo, which was gladly accepted and together they got him to his feet. Kuroo started out of the room first, Kenma not far behind. Kenma didn't miss a beat noticing a small limp in the others gait. He hummed to himself, _ interesting. _

It wasn't long before the doorbell was ringing. Kenma felt slightly better with the state of the apartment, Kuroo had tried his best to help clean up. There hadn't even been much to clean up in the first place, Kenma knew that, but he felt better, more safe, in the tidy place.

He decided to let Kuroo get the door and lingered back in Kuroo's room for a couple seconds longer. He was nervous to finally meet Tsukishima, who he had heard so much about from Kuroo and Yamaguchi combined. Kenma knew he couldn't be that bad if Yamaguchi was able to deal with him, after all Kenma was used to Kuroo, so how much worse could Tsukishima be? But meeting new people was always scary to Kenma, no matter how much he knew about the person beforehand.

He was excited to see Yamaguchi again as well. They had become much closer friends and they called each other nearly every day. Kuroo had been surprised at first to hear of their phone calls knowing Kenma rather walk over rusty nails then use the phone. Kenma had been surprised by himself too, but it was just something that had to do with Yamaguchi's voice that made calling so much better than texting.

Kuroo had laughed and had called him gay when Kenma told him that. Kenma had just rolled his eyes, who was he to disagree?

From his place in the hallway he could hear voices exchanging greetings at the front door. He took several slow breaths before moving to join his friends. The presence of Kuroo and Yamaguchi standing together gave Kenma a shock, somehow it felt right, like this was what he had been holding out for. Shaking off the thoughts Kenma smiled at Yamaguchi and felt himself relax when he received one back.

It was then that he looked over to the figure beside Yamaguchi.

_ Tsukishima Kei.  _

The first thing that came to mind was just how tall the blond was. He had to be taller than Kuroo, but only by a little, it was actually quite hard for Kenma to tell from his low vantage point. Plus Kuroo's hair threw the whole thing off.

"How tall are you?" Kenma blurted out, and then immediately regretted it. Of course he was curious, but that was a terrible greeting. He wanted to run back to his room and never have to face the blond giant again; he was sure Tsukishima hated him.

"I'm 190 cm." Tsukishima responded cooly, then laughed. "If we're going to skip past formal greetings I might as well just say you can call me Tsukki, since I'm guessing we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

Wow, he is taller than Kuroo, Kenma was amazed. He felt like a hobbit standing next to everyone. It was also in that moment that Kemna decided he liked Tsukishima's laugh. It was soft and rich, he imagined it was how honey would sound, not something Kenma had expected from him, but liked it nonetheless.

"Fuck yes you will be. I finally have all my favorite people in one place, I'm not letting you go now," Kuroo said stepping forward to sling an arm around both Tsukishima's and Kenma's shoulder.

"Try to sound a bit creepier, Kuroo." Kenma turned to glance up at Tsukishima. "Nice to finally meet you, I've heard quite a bit about you."

"Same to you, Shorty."

"Hey, no calling my boyfriend names." Kuroo flicked Tsukishima's temple lightly as his attempted form of punishment. "That's my job."

Yamaguchi laughed. "Is there somewhere I can put my coat?"

"Oh, yeah, here I'll take it." Kenma stopped and waited for Tsukishima to take his off as well before going and throwing them on his bed. Taking a breather he sat down on the edge and curled his knees up to his chin. So far everything seemed to be going okay. Tsukishima seemed a bit odd, but Kenma could only assume it was because they didn't know each other well enough yet; he was sure that would change. He needed to give him a chance before drawing any conclusions. If anything, everything was okay because Kuroo and Yamaguchi were there with him and he knew nothing bad would happen with them around.

"Kitten, are you planning to grace us with your presence tonight?" Kuroo called out after a minute. Slowly he rose from the bed and walked down the hall towards the living room. He stopped when he heard Tsukishima’s voice.

"Kitten?"

"Yeah, he doesn't like being called Kozume in public so I had to come up with something else. That and he sneezes like a kitten, it's adorable." Was Kuroo's response, Kenma smiled.

"Doesn't like being called his name in public? What is he saving it for the bedroom?" Kenma's smile dropped off his face and he froze up, he was instantly glad he wasn't in the room and for a moment he considered turning around and hiding in their bedroom until Kuroo or Yamaguchi would come to find him.

"Kei!" Yamaguchi's voice rose up and Kenma could hear a soft thump as he could only guess Yamaguchi reprimanded Tsukishima.

Kuroo's laugh rose above the noise and somehow Kenma knew it would be okay. "Anything but actually. He's ace. Asexual? Doesn't experience sexual attraction."

"So you guys don't...you know?" Tsukishima’s voice was curious and Kenma couldn't blame him.

"Nope!"

"And you're like, okay with that?"

"Yup. I respect him enough to accept that part of him." Kenma felt his heart swell at Kuroo's answer.

It was Yamaguchi's turn to cut in next, he sounded dead. "I can't believe we've been here for less then ten minutes and you guys are already discussing your sex lives."

"Nope, just mine and Kenma's so far. Speaking of how's yours going Tsukki, have you hit that yet? If you know what I mean." Kenma walked into the room as Kuroo winked and the other two boys turned matching shades of red. Yamaguchi went as far as to hide behind his hands. 

"It's only been a week, Kuroo." Tsukishima managed to stutter out.

"Oh hoho."

Kenma chose that moment to join in the conversation again. "Okay, let's move on here." He moved across the room and sat down basically on Kuroo's lap as the rest of the room on the couch was already taken up by their guests. "Is pizza okay for dinner with everyone?" There were nods of agreement all around.

"Do you want me to order, Kenma?" Yamaguchi offered pulling out his phone. Kenma nodded and ducked his head to hid behind Kuroo. It made him both happy and relieved that Yamaguchi had remembered his avoidance of phone calls and had taken it on himself to take the burden off Kenma. He felt a mix of emotions rise up, not even sure what some of them were.

The pizza arrived not long after and they settled down on the couch again, Kuroo sitting on the arm of the couch looking like a bird on his perch. He placed his plate on top of Kenma's head and made a joke how he was the perfect height. It got a laugh out of the others.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Kuroo asked. A piece of pizza flew out of his mouth and landed on the spot between Tsukishima and Kenma on the couch.

"Gross, Kuroo, don't talk with your mouth full," Yamaguchi commented and Kenma snickered. It was so much funnier when someone else called his boyfriend out on his gross behaviour.

"I came here with the promise of Jurassic Park, so yes, we better watch a movie." Tsukishima commented like he was indeed the five-year-old Kuroo had tagged him as.

"Chill dino freak." Tsukishima attempted to reach over Kenma and take a swing at Kuroo. "I'm on it, I got your back, bro," Kuroo said getting up to replace the empty plate in his hand with the tv remote and settle back down next to Kenma drawing the small boy closer.

It wasn't until nearly halfway through the movie that Tsukishima admitted this wasn't his first, but his fifteenth time, watching the movie. Kuroo had tried to act annoyed and tried to turn it off, but when Yamaguchi brought up that he had never actually seen the full thing Kuroo kept it on. Throughout the movie Kenma noticed the space between Tsukishima and Yamaguchi becoming less and less. There was a slight twinge in his gut, but he ignored it and blamed it on the greasy pizza.

Sitting curled up next to Kuroo and his two friends on the couch in his apartment, Kenma felt a strong sense of how right it all seemed. He liked this feeling, wrapped in a comfortable silence watching a movie, stomachs full and nothing to worry about. He took Kuroo's hand and brought it up to his mouth for a soft kiss before resting it down between them, this was the feeling of bliss.

Kenma felt truly comfortable.

 

Time passed as a bit of a blur after that night and the four of them grew ever closer. Kuroo started coming to the coffee shop with Kenma when he had the time and Yamaguchi would make his way over to chat whenever things got slow. Kenma ended his shift one day to find Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had come to pick him up for a double date to the movies.

Kuroo had gone ahead to buy tickets; in the end it happened to be some B-horror movie. Regardless apparently it still scared Yamaguchi because at one point he had grabbed on to Kenma's hand and squeezed until Kenma was sure he would lose his hand due to lack of circulation, but he couldn't bring himself to push Yamaguchi away. Kuroo gave him a weird look, knowing he usually wasn't one for physical contact with just anyone, and that was the end of the matter.

Kenma knew Kuroo and Tsukishima had also taken to hanging out on the nights that Kenma had class and Yamaguchi worked. All in all, life was going seemingly pretty well for them all. 

The doors of the elevator parted and Kenma stepped into the dimly lit hallway. It had always reminded him a bit of an old hotel, tacky wallpaper included, but this was home. He shuffled his feet down the hall and stopped in front of his door. A quick turn of the key and he was in, slipping off his shoes and locking the door behind him. "Kuroo, I'm home," he called out softly.

He usually he got home just after nine on nights when he had class and Kuroo was usually still awake, but tonight there was no reply. Kenma didn't think about it too much about it and continued down the hall and threw his bag down by his desk before carrying on to Kuroo's room. The sight before him threw him off. End scene credits from what Kenma guessed was the newest thriller rolling on the tv and the sleeping Kuroo weren't anything out of the ordinary. Kenma was fixated on the one thing that didn't belong in this scenario and that was his best friend's boyfriend curled up in bed with Kenma's own boyfriend.

Tsukishima was curled, almost in fetal position, up against Kuroo's back. Both of them were out cold. Their quiet breaths filled up Kenma's thoughts. The only thing coming to mind was how he wanted to join them and feel the warmth their bodies would give off. He pushed the thought away as soon as it arrived. Instead he wondered if Yamaguchi knew Tsukishima was over and that by the looks of it, would definitely be staying the night.

Quickly Kenma snapped a picture and texted Kenma.

**Kenma:** [image attached] if you're wondering….i found him

**Yamaguchi:** OMG I'm so sorry!!

**Kenma:** its fine dont worry 

**Kenma:** and hes staying the night they look too peaceful to wake

The reply came a couple minutes later.

**Yamaguchi:** Are you sure? I can come get him

**Kenma:** its fine i promise. now get to sleep dont u have a morning shift tomorrow?

**Yamaguchi:** I do! AHH thank you. You're the seriously the best, Kenma! What would we do without you

Kenma chose to ignore the blood that rushed to his cheeks and made his way back to his room and changed into pyjama pants before crawling into his bed. It was cold and he couldn't remember the last time he had slept in it. His phone vibrated again.

**Yamaguchi:** Is it bad that I sorta wanna join them?

Kenma plugged in his phone before flipping to face the wall. Kenma smiled at the thought, he had to agree with Yamaguchi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos are very much appreciated! 
> 
> also im @/ycmcguchi on tumblr if u wanna come cry w me


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